A SHENZHEN computer memory chip maker has successfully defended court action filed by a U.S. company claiming its patents had been infringed.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Judge Theodore Essex, in a preliminary ruling, said Shenzhen Ramaxel had not violated Tessera Technologies’ patent rights related to packaging for the chips to protect them from damage, counsel for Ramaxel, Ran Ruixue, said Sunday.
“No violation has occurred in the importation into the United States or the sale within the United States,” Essex wrote.
Tessera said it would challenge the decision.
The judge’s findings are subject to review by the six-member commission in Washington.
The ruling followed an 18-month legal battle by the Shenzhen firm to safeguard its rights, Ran said.
The Shenzhen company was one of 18 named by Tessera in the complaint about the infringement of three Tessera patents. The other respondents included six memory chip makers from China’s Taiwan, three from the United States and one from Japan.
Tessera sued the companies in December 2007 in the ITC and the federal court in Texas. The federal court hearing was on hold until the ITC investigation was completed.
Tessera contended that its packaging allows for greater connectivity so wafers can be made smaller for products such as mobile phones without any loss of power.
The dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM chip action was brought under the Semiconductor Chips with Minimized Chip Packaging, Section 337.
The ITC is an agency of the U.S. Government that investigates allegations of unfair trade practices and grants relief if unfair practices are found. Investigations of unfair trade practices based on violations of U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights (IPR) related to imported products are referred to as “Section 337 cases” because they are based on section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930. Most recent Section 337 cases have involved patent infringements.
According to a survey by iSuppli, a global leader in technology value chain research and advisory service, Shenzhen Ramaxel was ranked fourth in memory chip production worldwide.
In 2008, U.S. ITC authorized Section 337 investigations into 12 Chinese companies and four this year for alleged patent infringement, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Chinese companies successfully defended five cases this year. (Mu Zi)